Light
by AlisaRB
Summary: Daryl and Beth had been together for a couple years now, and if their relationship is already strange for people, the circumstances around them make their love even stranger for some. But not for them. AU/ No zombies
1. Chapter 1

**A/U: This is just a brief (well...) one-shot. Sometimes I don't feel inspired enough to update my fics but an idea pops in my mind and I have to write it down. And here it is. Please enjoy and ignore every possible mistakes.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own TWD or its characters.**

* * *

Daryl parked his bike in front of the music venue and watched for a moment the exterior of the building with a big shiny neon sign. He rubbed his face with his hand and sighed before he got off the bike and headed towards the entry.

There was a nice dimness that allowed a better lighting to the stage at the back of the room. In those moments the stage was already being used, and the people sitting around the tables was clapping and laughing softly. Daryl couldn't help but smirk softly when he spotted her up there, with the microphone on one hand and her guitar slinging over her shoulder.

"This next song… well the last one it's called ' _Married'_ and…" she adjusted the strings of her guitar before she kept talking, "Have you ever been at a party and the only thing you wanted to do was get out of there to make out with someone?" more laughter followed, and this time she laughed too. She bent over lightly to grab a water bottle and sipped a couple times before she started singing.

Daryl wasn't surprised when everyone fell silent all of a sudden. It was a habitual reaction: hardly anyone was able to speak until the song was over.

Daryl was speechless himself; despite he had heard her sing lots of times. That was another thing with Beth: it didn't matter how many times she sung in front of you, each time was as different and hypnotic. He doubted that that peace and knot in his stomach he always felt when he heard her voice would ever fade.

He remembered perfectly the day she had written that song. They were sitting on the couch in their apartment, him reading and her with the guitar, trying tunes and writing things in her notebook.

"I'm writing a song about the first time we met" she told him, smiling. Daryl snorted softly.

"That is gonna be a hell of a song" he answered, and she giggled.

"It was wonderful" Beth assured vehemently, "Best day of my life".

And he saw her then, sitting on the couch of _their_ home, and he couldn't help feeling the luckiest guy in the world.

"Yeah" he nodded, "Mine too".

Suddenly her voice faded away and the applauses resurged. He hastened in joining them, and then she giggled and blushed, as if she was surprised that people liked her songs. She got off the stage, with the people still clapping, and without a doubt she headed towards his place. She knew he'd be always there.

"Daryl" she was glowing. Her hair was collected in a lateral ponytail and she was wearing a turquoise long-sleeved blouse with high black jeans. He approached her and kissed her softly, "Did you arrive in time? Did you like it?"

"Mm" he raised his hand and brushed a strand of hair off her face, "You wanna stay a while?"

"No, no" she shook her head, "I wanna go home. I haven't seen you in the whole day".

"Okay" he muttered, kissing her one more time. She picked up all of her stuff, and when she came back, she grabbed his arm with a hand as she unfolded her white cane to walk through the crowd.

* * *

They met two years earlier. It was another night for Daryl: Merle had dragged him to another stranger's house full of people so he could get in trouble. Daryl was there only to avoid having him spending the night in a jail, but suddenly he was nowhere to be found and Daryl stayed in a corner of the living room, drinking moonshine and trying to ignore the annoying drunks who were making out in front of him.

Suddenly a little blonde girl appeared beside him, sipping from one of those red cups. He stared at her, thinking that she was so damn pretty, and then she turned her head. Daryl looked away quickly, but that didn't stop the tip of his ears from turning red.

"Hi" she greeted him with a surprisingly sweet voice. He grunted something that didn't really mean anything, and she smiled, "I'm Beth".

She raised her hand, and then Daryl realized she was using a cane. His sight was so focused on that white cane, trying to put two and two together, that he had completely forgotten that that girl was still waiting for him to shake her hand.

"You just saw it, didn't you?" she asked him suddenly. He raised his head to look at her, but her smile was still there, "I'd like to lower my hand".

"Shit" he muttered, hastening in shaking it. Beth's smile widened, "Sorry".

"Why?"

"'Cause I…eh…"

"It must be dark in here for you to not notice it before. People tend to look at the cane before they even look at my face" and she giggled. Daryl observed her eyes, fixed on the floor. They didn't look like his picture of a blind person's eyes: they were light blue, and if it wasn't because she was using that cane and her eyes seemed to be looking at the nothing, he wouldn't have guessed she was blind, "This party sucks, right?"

Daryl shrugged, but then he realized that she couldn't see him. He grunted again, feeling stupid.

"My sister forced me to come here" she continued, "According to her, I have to stop acting like an old lady and celebrate that I can legally drink" and she raised her cup lightly to illustrate her words, "I turn twenty-one today".

"Congratulations" he muttered, staring at her more intently. One of her hands fidgeted with the hem of her floral dress. Her hair, bright and blonde, fell in soft waves down her back, and Daryl thought that she was too young and too pretty to be wasting her birthday talking to him, "Where's your sister?"

"She's probably kissing some boy around here" and she shrugged, her sweet smile staying permanently on her face, "I didn't really wanna go out today. It's just a bunch of people and too much noise".

"Me either" he found himself answering. Beth nodded, "My brother dragged me here too".

"What a coincidence" she laughed, "Is it your birthday as well?"

"Nah" he shook his head, "It's not gonna be such a coincidence".

"That's a shame" she raised her eyebrows, and then brought the cup to her lips. She grimaced, "This is disgusting".

"What are you drinking?" he asked her.

"Peach schnapps"

Daryl chuckled.

"That the first drink you're gonna have legally?"

Beth smiled widely, and Daryl gave her his cup.

"Go ahead, try this".

"What is it?"

"Moonshine" he told her as she sipped. She wrinkled her nose and Daryl contained a laugh.

"That's the most disgusting thing I've ever tasted" she complained, but her expression never changed, and she drank a bit more before she giggled, "My dad used to say that bad moonshine can make you go blind" and she drank again. Daryl took the cup away from her carefully, but she had already drunk every last drop.

"Slow down" he indicated her, "This is gonna kick your ass if you're light as a plume".

The giggle that she let out told him that it was too late.

"Don't worry, you can always carry me" she shrugged as if nothing, and giggled again. Daryl thanked that she couldn't see how red he was, "I want more of that" and she dropped her cup in a shelf, "You're right, peach schnapps sucks".

And Daryl chuckled again.

He spent the rest of the night trying to move cups so she wouldn't drink too much, and at some point she dragged him to the center of the living room when a song she liked started playing. She was determinate to make him dance while he refused weakly.

"Oh, c'mon" she told him as she pouted, "You're gonna say no to a poor blind girl?"

"You're just taking advantage now" he grumbled, feeling the effects of the alcohol dazing his mind. She smiled at him so brightly and he already knew he would give in. She wound her arms around his neck and they started swaying slowly, her head resting against his chest. He put his hands on her hips and they kept moving at the same pace even though it was a song made to jump and dance energetically.

At the end of the night, Daryl didn't even remember Merle, and Beth didn't even think she would find Maggie, so they shared a cab. She gave the driver her address.

"And don't even think about protesting, Daryl" she silenced him before he could open his mouth, "I got a beautiful co-couch" she finished as she yawned.

Daryl held her carefully as they climbed the stairs to get to her apartment in a third floor without an elevator while she struggled to find the right key. Just as the door opened she threw herself against a soft Labrador.

"Hi there buddy!" she exclaimed, "Here, this is Daryl… what else?"

"Dixon" he answered, feeling suddenly uncomfortable for being at her place. During his drunken phase, he hadn't been totally conscious, but now that he was aware of the situation he could see how wrong that was. He couldn't sleep at a much younger and blind girl.

He frowned when he thought that she hadn't acted in a very sensible way either.

"Well" she started, stretching her arms, "this is my home. My landlord says it has beautiful views, but I have no idea" she fell on the couch with a thud, "And here is the couch, which is really…" her voice faded away as her eyelids started falling. She opened her eyes suddenly and started laughing, "Really soft. He was right".

Beth patted a spot beside her.

"Come over here".

"I think I should leave" he muttered, feeling how the alcohol wasn't affecting him anymore. Beth furrowed her brow.

"What are you talking about? It's too late. And dangerous" Daryl almost laughed. He was the kind of guy that people avoided at night, "I'm gonna sleep, you're gonna sleep, and tomorrow I'll make you some really delicious pancakes. What do you think?"

Since he didn't have a lot of options (he didn't really want to walk back home, and he didn't have money for a bus or a cab) he approached the couch and sat down carefully. Beth stood up and went to one of the doors. Daryl looked at the cane, resting against a wall besides the door, and felt a bit worried.

"Are you sure you can get to your room by yourself?"

"Yeah, I know this home by heart. I could walk 'round here with my eyes closed" and giggled again. Daryl smirked, "I'd offer you a blanket, but it's a bit hot here…"

"'M okay" he assured her, "Thanks".

Beth stopped and turned around. Her eyes were fixed on the floor, but Daryl suddenly felt like she was piercing him.

"I just… wanted to stay at home reading" she said, her voice soft and sober, "I didn't wanna have to go through this birthday thing, you know? And then I noticed you. Don't ask me how, I just did. You were different. And… for the first time in a while, I'm glad I didn't stay at home, Daryl" and she smiled so softly and yet so sadly that Daryl wondered why she hated her birthdays so much. She was good, and pure, and he was convinced she had a family that loved her and was deeply worried because their little girl had left a party with a much older redneck.

"I'm glad too" he answered and she was beaming so intently that he was positive they wouldn't need any lamp to light the room. She fidgeted with her hands for a few seconds, her cheeks lightly blushed, and then she spoke.

"Can I… have a birthday present?" she asked him. Daryl blinked, confused.

"I guess" he responded, not being really sure about what she was asking. Beth bit her lower lip and took a deep breath nervously.

"Could you give me a kiss?"

Daryl swore his heart had skipped a fucking beat. A part of him was already trying to stand up, but the other one (the sensitive one) stopped him firmly.

"I don't think that's a good idea" he told her cautiously. He was amazed by her disappointed expression.

"Why not?"

"I'm a lot older".

"Oh, c'mon" she smiled again, "I don't think I've spent the night with an eighty-year-old".

"But I'm not in my twenties either" he grunted, awkward. Beth shrugged.

"How old are you then?"

Daryl took a few seconds to answer.

"Thirty-six" he lifted his head when Beth bursted out laughing, "You think it's funny?"

"Very" she answered in between laughs, "Do you think that's a _lot_ older?"

"Believe me, you wouldn't ask me that if you could…" he didn't finish the sentence.

"…if I could see, you mean? Daryl, it's my eyes which are damaged, not my brain" Daryl chuckled dryly, "If you don't wanna do it, that's okay. But if you do want to kiss me… well, then you shouldn't even doubt. I want you to" she added in a whisper.

Another silence appeared between them, stretching immensely. Daryl flexed his hands, not knowing what to do. His mind was racing, but his body was totally still and for when he lifted his eyes, he really didn't expect her standing there, waiting.

He got up slowly, almost silently, and he approached her. Beth raised her head, her lips lightly open and that pretty pink on her cheeks. He hesitated a second before he dared resting his hand against her cheek and move forward to brush her lips with his, in such a soft way that he wondered if she had felt that. But then she stood on her toes and grabbed his shirt as she wound up her arms around his neck to press him harder against her. Daryl grabbed her hips tightly and practically crashed her against him.

* * *

The bike parked in front of their building, and he offered her his hand so she could get off. Beth unfolded the white cane as he climbed off as well. She took his arm and they both started walking towards the apartment.

They had moved together almost a year after they first met. After that night, she had asked him to meet again, and even though she wasn't completely sure if he would actually go, there were no words to describe the joy that she felt when he sat in front of her in that booth of a diner.

From that moment, they had started seeing each other regularly. Beth felt like they had always known each other. Things were simple and natural between them. She started spending more and more time at his place, and she just didn't know if she could be happier than she already was.

"It's easy" she explained one night, both lying on the couch: him resting against the arm and her back against his chest, with a book on her lap, "you can write anything with just six spots".

"Don't seem easy t'me" he answered. Beth smiled and started touching the page carefully.

"Well, it's like learning to read. First you have to learn the letters, then complete words, and after that you start…" she took his hand and put it over the page, "you start understanding what it says. It's easier than it looks".

He grunted something else and moved his hand away to place it on her chin, tracing her jaw line with his index finger. Beth closed her eyes.

"There's even a…" she stopped a second when Daryl's finger started caressing her neck, "a language for people who is blind and deaf".

"Yeah?" he muttered.

"Mm-mm" Beth nodded, "Writing on their hands".

"On their hands" Daryl repeated, moving his finger down her clavicle. Beth smiled softly even though her eyes were strongly closed.

Suddenly, right before his hand could reach her jersey, he moved. Beth turned around, confused.

"Teach me how to write in Braille".

"Right now?" she asked. He did an affirmative sound. Beth got up hesitantly, still confused, and took a slate and stylus from the table. She sat down again against his back carefully, and he hugged her with one arm as he grabbed the stylus and slate with the other hand.

"How do you write the M?"

"Well…" Beth took his hand, "first, you have to indicate it's a capital letter. We don't want mistakes in Braille, do we?" she joked as she moved his hand softly and started marking the spots, "That's it, very well" she whispered, guiding him.

"A'right, and if I wanna write… an o, what do you mark?"

"Daryl Dixon, what are you up to?" she asked. Daryl smiled and shook his head before he kissed her on the cheek and hugged her tighter.

"You can't be a good guy and want to learn how to write in Braille without your girlfriend thinking you're up to somethin' bad" he said in a false tone of deception. Beth poked him lightly, "C'mon, help me with his".

Beth just needed two more letters before she dropped Daryl's hand suddenly. She didn't even care about the stale falling to the floor with a thud.

"You're messing with me" she said. Daryl stilled, not knowing what to answer. That was a good or a bad signal?

"No" he just replied, "I want you to live with me".

"Are you serious?"

Daryl was already feeling extremely uncomfortable. He felt blood turning his face red, so he just grunted. Beth moved forward immediately and rounded his neck with her arms, hugging him and giggling.

"Now I get it" she muttered after a while, "You wanted to learn Braille so you can send me to do the purchase when you don't want to".

Daryl chuckled huskily and put his hands over her cheeks.

"You know me too well" and he kissed her.

Things had been pretty easy after that. Beth had brought all of her stuff to his apartment, which was bigger than hers, and he had been more than willing to make room in the dresser and the bathroom as long as she kept letting him wake her up with kisses and didn't hate him for drawing her out of her sleep every morning. He made coffee and she made toasts, and they both sat down to have breakfast together.

Beth worked as a music teacher for children with visual impairment so they could also learn it without seeing, and she was also a musician. She played and sang regularly in some venues, and even though she wasn't especially famous, a growing crowd was increasing little by little.

Daryl worked in a construction company owned by Jim, an old friend with whom had worked in a repair shop a few years before. Every day, he got out of work and picked her up from music school or went to some venue to listen to her singing.

That night, while they waited for the elevator to reach their floor, Daryl felt something different in Beth. She looked agitated, nervous, but also kind of sad, and he couldn't help feeling worried. The night Daryl had met Beth, she had acted exactly like she looked: cheerful, smiling, with always a kind word to say and without a problem at all. However, as they started knowing each other more and more, Beth ended up telling him that the night they first met, it was the fifth anniversary of the car accident that killed her mom and her older brother and made her blind. It was the reason of why she hated her birthdays and had refused to go out until Maggie had finally convinced her.

"The best decision of my life" she whispered to him as he caressed the scar on her wrist, "And that one is the most stupid" she added, pointing to her wrist. Who would have guessed that sweet, good Beth Greene had her own demons? It was the same night that he told him about his childhood and his back full of scars. She had felt them, of course, but he had always moved away and changed the subject.

"My mama died in a fire and Merle was never 'round. My ol' man just wanted someone to beat" he confessed quietly, and Beth hugged him softly as her hands traced every scar carefully while she breathed on his ear calmly, even though he could feel her heart pounding and the wetness on her cheeks.

Therefore, the fact that Beth suddenly didn't act like _Beth_ alerted Daryl. He said nothing, of course, but he knew her enough to know that she was thinking about something.

They both entered the apartment, and he started taking off his leather jacket while she paced around the living room nervously while Wolf, her Labrador, kept following her, as faithful as always.

Daryl sat down on their bed and finished undressing until he was just on his boxers. Beth appeared after a few minutes, Wolf behind her, and while she started petting the dog carefully, Daryl felt that worry growing and growing inside him.

"You're okay?" he finally asked her. Beth shrugged lightly, and then, she sighed heavily and turned to face him.

"Daryl, do you think it'd be selfish if we had a baby?" Daryl almost fell off the bed.

"You wanna have a baby?" he asked her. Beth shrugged again and lay down on the bed, sighing again before she rested the back of her hand against her forehead.

"Yes" she muttered after a few seconds, "I want to have a child with you, Daryl".

Daryl lay beside her, propping up on one elbow to watch her.

"Do you want to?" she asked her in a quiet and fearful tone. He rested a hand against her cheek and kissed her.

"I'd never thought about havin' children until I met you" he answered. Beth seemed to deflate a bit after that.

"But, would I be selfish? I mean, if we have a baby, our family will never be like other families" she affirmed, and she said it in such a sad tone that Daryl's stomach clenched, "I've always wanted a child, but it's not the same. I'm blind, Daryl" she told him, as if it was something new.

"I know" Daryl answered.

"I will never see him" she muttered, leaning against his hand, "And I will never be able to protect him at one hundred percent. I will never be like other moms. I'll never be a good mom".

"Stop right there" Daryl cut her off, "Any child would be damn lucky to be your kid".

Beth smiled softly and kissed the palm of his hand.

"Lotta women can see their kids and they do nothing to protect or love 'em" he continued, "You don't need a pair of eyes that work to take good care of our kid. Besides, you think I'd let anything happen to our child? Or that Wolf would?" Beth giggled, and Daryl smirked, "I love you".

"I love you" she answered, scooping up a bit to kiss him again. Daryl wiped a little tear with his thumb, "And you're going to be the best dad any kid could wish".

Daryl snorted softly, but then she furrowed her brow.

"The best dad, Daryl" she repeated, convinced, "You don't need a perfect past or a different last name to take good care of our kid" she quoted him, "And you put all of that away. Just like I did".

He seemed to hesitate, but at the end, he lowered his eyes and found her beneath him. Her eyelids were shut, but her little and fast hands had turned into her eyes. They wandered up her arms quickly until one of them rested on his face, covering his eyes, and the other one was on his back.

"Make love to me, Daryl" she whispered.

And he didn't have any objection about that.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I know some people were curious about what happened after, so here it is. I really loved writing it, so I hope you enjoy it just as much!**

* * *

Daryl let Beth break him a few fingers as she squeezed his hand strongly in order to focus on keeping calmed his own heartbeat.

"Well, let's see" the gynecologist smiled as she sat in front of Beth's parted thighs. She inhaled deeply, "Ready?"

Beth just nodded jerkily as she tightened the grip on his hand.

"There's no need to be nervous" she assured Beth, giving her a soft touch on her knee, "Okay…" Daryl wasn't sure about what was going on under the cover that the doctor had placed over Beth's legs (and it wasn't like he wanted to find out) but whatever it was, it must hurt, because she winced.

"You okay?" he asked her in a whisper. Beth opened her eyes and nodded.

"It's just an uncomfortable pressure, is all" she answered him in the same volume. Daryl was going to respond to that, but then something stopped him.

A quick and steady heartbeat.

He turned his head brusquely to look at the screen, and suddenly, he didn't even care if Beth ripped off his whole arm.

"Yes, you're indeed pregnant, Beth. I'd say about eight weeks" doctor Chambler smiled widely, "Congratulations, future mom and dad".

Daryl had never been an impressionable man. He had had a childhood of nightmare and he'd been a hunter almost since he could remember, so there were few things that could make him feel sick. However, he had the feeling that the room had started moving, and he felt relieved that Beth was holding his hand, because he thought he was going to fall at any moment.

He looked down at her and saw how her eyes were flooding with tears, but also her face was painted with a breathtaking smile. She was laughing and crying at the same time, and he couldn't help but bend down to kiss her on the temple and lean against her, trying to contain his own shaky breath.

"How is it?" she whispered. Daryl moved away lightly and turned his head towards the screen again. It was an obscure image, and there wasn't much visible except for a tiny white thing, almost without a shape.

"It's…" he started, not knowing how to continue, "It's small".

Beth laughed softly, her voice still quavering from the nerves and the emotion.

"Yeah, I know that" she answered, "what else?"

"It… looks like a peanut" Beth laughed harder, "You can see its head, but not much… and it has…"

"If you look here" the doctor indicated him kindly, pointing at the screen, "these are the feet. The baby must be sleeping or be an incredibly good kid, because there's no movement" and she smiled.

"Can you see if it's a girl or a boy yet?" Beth asked.

"It's still soon" the gynecologist answered, "but for the moment I can tell the baby is perfectly healthy".

Beth sighed, relieved and without removing the smile from her face.

"Thank God" she muttered.

"I think it'll be born in mid-April, maybe in the late" she kept going, as she removed the transducer carefully, "You can get dressed again, Beth".

Beth put down her legs and Daryl helped her behind the folding screen. Her cane was still beside her clothes, and she took it to get to the desk and sit down. She still hadn't let go of his hand.

"Well" the doctor started, giving Daryl a big envelope, "I also have to tell you: your baby is really photogenic".

Daryl couldn't help but smirk at that.

"You don't have to worry 'bout nothing, okay? Beth, you can keep doing what you did before, just take it easy. Make some moderate exercise, eat healthy, don't drink alcohol, don't smoke… well, I think the logical stuff".

"Thanks, doctor" she smiled, wiping her tears.

Daryl's mind wandered two days back, a Friday night when Beth had gotten home accompanied by Maggie. Daryl, who was setting the table, approached her to give her a peck on the lips, but she moved away and shook her head. He frowned, confused.

"She's been puking" Maggie explained, and his frown deepened, full of concern, "I think she's not ready for Indian food".

Beth's hand looked for Daryl instinctively and he didn't think twice when he picked her up in his arms. Maggie took her purse and cane while he carried her to the bedroom. He left her carefully on the bed and Maggie handed him a plastic bag.

"I bought an isotonic drink, so she can hydrate again" she explained.

"Thanks" Daryl answered, taking the bag.

"I gotta go, but can you call me tomorrow to tell me how is she?"

He just nodded and she gave him a quick hug before she left.

Daryl turned around and sat beside Beth on the bed, dropping the bag in the bedside table to put his hand on her forehead.

"I don't have a fever" she whined weakly, "I'm fine".

"People don't puke when they're fine, Beth" he countered, helping her to sit up and bringing the bottle of isotonic drink to her lips, "C'mon, drink some".

Beth gave a few sips and leaned her head against the headboard, tired.

"I thought you never got sick" he commened.

"And I don't" she whispered, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

"Well, seems like the Greene's immune system failed" he teaser her softly. She smiled.

"No, they didn't" she just answered, and there was something in her voice that made him look up at her questioningly. He just needed a couple seconds to understand.

"You sure?" he asked, feeling a lump in his throat.

"Well, not one hundred percent sure, but I know. I was waiting to get home to take the test with you. Could you bring me my purse?"

"We don't have to do this now" he answered, "You just puked your guts out, girl, get some rest".

"Daryl, I'm _fine_ " she repeated firmly, "I couldn't be happier to be puking, I assure you. I just need to get to the bathroom".

He made an affirmative sound and picked her up again.

"Daryl, I can walk" she laughed.

"Too slow" he answered quietly, and Beth couldn't help but rest her head against his neck, smiling.

He stood there, waiting outside the bathroom until she got out. And when he finally looked at the stick with the positive sign in it, Daryl stared at it for a while, silently.

"So?" she asked nervously.

"It's…" his voice trailed out, his mind feeling chaotic, "positive".

He hadn't got the word out of his mouth when she threw herself against him, squeezing him with a surprising strength. And despite the fact that his heart was about to get out of his chest and that he couldn't even talk, there was also something inside him that made him hug her back tightly and bury his face in her hair to hide the goofy smile that struggled to appear.

It was Beth standing up who made him come back to the doctor's office. He shook her hand and they both got out, without dropping hands in any moment. Beth was euphoric, practically _glowing_ as they walked back home.

"Can you believe it? Eight weeks. I thought it was less time, but… God, I'm so happy" she sighed, just to let out a laugh immediately after, "Incredible".

Daryl couldn't stop smiling just from watching her. Beth was almost hopping beside him, trying to contain her giggles.

"We have to give the good news" she said, "To my family, Merle, our friends…"

"There's no rush" he answered, "That kid's not moving for 'nother seven months".

She was hugging him then, burying her face in his chest and breathing shakily.

"We're going to be parents" she muttered. He stroked her hair softly and wrapped an arm around her waist.

"Yeah" he replied quietly.

"I love you so much" she whispered, standing on her tiptoes to give him a peck, "I love you, I love you, I love you" she repeated, intercalating sentences with kisses, until he put a hand on the back of her head to keep her in place. Beth didn't have a problem with that.

* * *

Beth didn't know that being pregnant would mean so _many_ things. She was pretty inexpert: her mom had died and Maggie didn't have any kids of her own either, so she didn't have a clue on the subject, and even though she had been reading every pregnancy book she had found, neither of them could prepare her for the real thing.

For the "morning" sickness that prolonged during noon, afternoon, evening and night, making her sneak out of places as quick as possible. The situation was more difficult if she was alone in the street and wasn't sure if her vomit would go to the floor or to someone's shoes.

For the swollen ankles and the feeling that someone (well, _someone_ ) was using her back as a punching bag.

For the constant tiredness and the exhaustion from simple chores (Beth laughed now at the _moderate exercise_ advice).

For the hormones that made her feel like she had no control over her body (which was true). One second she was angry at everyone and she hated Daryl just for _breathing_ too loudly; just to feel bad at the next moment for getting mad at him when he was just being awesome and she felt her eyes prickle with tears; then she felt euphoric for having him; and finally the moment came when just from his initially annoying breathing, she felt like she _needed_ to tie him up to the bed.

But mostly, she was positive that no book or class could prepare her for the fear that invaded her at any moment: the fear of not being a good mother, not knowing how to be one, of hurting her baby in any way.

She wondered if her mom had felt this fear, and how did she deal with it.

It was the same fear that suffocated her in her doctor's appointments, when she assured them both that everything was perfect and the baby was as healthy as it could be. The same that kept her awake at night because the little one wasn't kicking her and she felt alarmed because her little one _always_ kicked her at night. The same fear that Daryl had to soothe every night, while she lay on her back with him beside her, his hand over her growing belly.

"You want it to be a boy or a girl?" she asked him once. He just grunted.

"I just want it to be healthy" he answered, and Beth smiled because it was exactly what she had expected him to say. She put her hand over his and closed her eyes.

"What was your mom's name?" Beth said suddenly, and she could feel his hand tense lightly.

"Julie" he replied after a few seconds.

"If we have a girl…" she yawned softly, "we could name her Julie".

Another silence.

"It'd be okay" he whispered, and Beth squeezed his hand softly.

* * *

She was due in two weeks when contractions started. It was Saturday, and Daryl had gone hunting for the weekend with Merle until she had convinced him that anything would happen.

"What a timing" she murmured, trying to get her phone and not bend over from the pain. Daryl didn't answer the phone, but Maggie just took five minutes to arrive, and that worried Beth slightly because her sister's house was twenty minutes away by car, but in those moments she couldn't bring herself to wonder about Maggie's driving. Maggie, by the record, was about to have a breakdown.

"You okay? Want some water? You want me to stop? Oh, god, tell me you're not gonna break waters in here" she was so hysterical that she was making Beth more nervous.

"Maggie, I need you to find Daryl" she answered, digging her nails on Maggie's arm.

"Beth, if you don't drop my arm I think I'm gonna start screaming with you" she whimpered as she tried to drive at full speed and dial Daryl's number. Suddenly, and just when she was about to call, another car crossed in front of them and Maggie stopped, but just after her car had hit the side of the other. Beth screamed and Maggie did, too.

"Beth, are you okay?"

"Yes, I just freaked out" she answered, breathing heavily, "What happened?"

"Just some asshole!" she got out of the car, leaving Beth there, who couldn't stop moving back and forth to calm the contractions.

"It's okay, it's okay" she said as she rubbed her belly. Even though she was inside the car, the car windows were down, so she could hear the conversation.

"ASSHOLE! WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU DOIN', HUH? WE ALMOST DIE BECAUSE OF YOU!"

"Lady, you skipped a stop!"

"The hell I was!"

"I suggest you control your mouth, I'm a police agent!"

"Yeah? Well, I'll tell you something, Mr. Policeman, my _very_ knocked up sister is in that car and she's giving birth!"

Instant silence.

"Giving birth?"

"Yeah, genius, giving birth! So you better find a way to take her to the hospital in time or you're gonna have to take the baby out!"

"Okay, alright" and something else Beth didn't catch. One minute later, Maggie was opening her door and helping her get out.

"C'mon, Bethy, that's it".

"Where are we going?"

"Don't freak out again" she told her. Suddenly, Beth heard police cars approaching and she tensed, "Everything's gonna be okay. That dude, agent Grimes, he called an ambulance. Bethy, a police car's gonna escort us!" she squealed in delight, "Isn't it cool?"

"It'd be cooler if I didn't have a baby trying to get out of me- FUCK!" she exclaimed when another contraction waved over her.

"It must really hurt if you just cursed" Maggie commented nonchalantly.

"Oh, you think so? Maggie" she said, grabbing her sister by her arm, "Get Daryl".

* * *

Glenn, Maggie's boyfriend, receives a text from Maggie to get Daryl. Glenn calls Daryl. No answer. Maggie says "insist". Still no answer. Glenn calls another four times before he gets tired and drives towards Daryl and Beth's place, hoping that he may have arrived earlier. Nope.

Frustrated, and feeling slightly scared because he has the feeling that Maggie, or Beth, or even Daryl could kill him if he didn't get Daryl in time, Glenn decides to go get him personally, following the scarce indications that Maggie gives him from a screaming Beth about where they _might_ be. When he hears the yells behind Maggie's voice, suddenly the idea of look for the Dixon brothers in the huge Georgia forest doesn't look that terrifying.

So he gets the car and drives until he gets there, and he finds Daryl's pick-up truck. Glenn approaches the vehicle and discovers that Daryl has left the phone inside. Glenn tries to refrain himself from banging his head against the nearest tree while he tries to think what is he going to do. Feeling suddenly determinate, he starts walking at full speed towards the wood, not even stopping to consider which direction he is choosing. At some point, thirty minutes later, he's so lost and he's still so _determinate_ to find them that he doesn't see the hole in the ground and he sprains his ankle, falling a few meters until he finishes at the two Dixon's feet.

"Look, these Chinese kids deliver food everywhere" Merle comments.

"Shut up, Merle" Daryl grunts, bending over beside him, "The fuck you doing here?"

"Beth… baby… coming" he manages to say Glenn, grabbing his ankle forcefully. Suddenly Daryl is pale, and has started running towards the truck with Merle after him, "HEY! I'M STILL HERE!"

Merle backs up enough to lift him by one arm and practically drag him towards the truck, while Daryl waits for them impatiently.

* * *

There's a lot of thing for what books didn't prepare Beth. Fear, confusion, doubts, insecurities…

But if there's something that she's totally convinced is that there isn't no book in the world that can prepare you for the feeling that invades her when she hears her baby's crying, just before it's in her arms.

"Congratulations, it's a girl" the doctor says. Beth is still trembling, and exhausted, and pained, but everything fades as soon as she feels her daughter near her. She puts her in her chest, so she can hear her heart. Suddenly the crying ends and she feels her little hand in her clavicle, clenching and unclenching carefully her tiny fist.

"Daryl" she sobs then and she can feel him beside her. She cannot remember exactly how long he took to arrive, but then he was holding her hand and it was _almost_ like the contractions didn't rip her from inside, "Look".

And then a nurse takes her little girl away for a moment, and when she's back, they're alone in the room, him sitting beside her, and she laying down against the pillow, with her face tear stained and her body feeling more tired than ever.

"Hold her" she whispers, trying to pass her to him. His hands seem to hesitate for an instant before they take the baby. Beth wipes her tears, "It's our daughter".

"Yeah" Daryl whispers, but it's like he's not really listening to her. Beth cannot see him, and still she knows that he must be just as in awe that she is. She knows that from that moment, there will be nothing that Daryl will deny to his little girl, "Ours" he says, and he kisses Beth on the head. Beth practically deflates.

That night, Daryl sleeps in the bed next to them, Julie between her parents. It's very late when Beth opens her eyes suddenly, awake for no reason, and her hand starts tracing with incredible softness any feature of her daughter. And suddenly, her hand moves and lands on Daryl's face, who's soundly asleep, and she repeats the process.

And then she has to struggle not to cry, because her daughter is exactly how she imagined her. Just like her daddy.

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for reading and please review!**


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